Arena studies are ‘window dressing’ to obscure who the main beneficiaries of 76 Place will be

The city released impact studies for the proposed 76ers arena in Center City last week. Among the hundreds of pages and projections of the reports — which were funded by the Sixers — one essential truth is clear: Chinatown will not benefit if 76 Place gets the green light. It might not even survive.

These studies are window dressing to obscure the fact that the main beneficiaries of this project will be the billionaires who proposed it. And once again in Philadelphia, a community of color has the most to lose.

But who is this city for?

The economic study was completed by a firm whose reputation for accuracy has been questioned, and is an embarrassment that Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and City Council cannot take seriously. Economic experts interviewed by The Inquirer have characterized it variously as a “completely useless” and a “concocted PR document.”

Other experts have raised concerns about its credibility. The report included only an unaudited estimate of what an arena could add, failing to consider financial costs like lost tax revenue or losses for existing businesses — and still projected significantly less tax revenue than the Sixers have claimed.

» READ MORE: Impact studies underscore the strong divide on Sixers arena. City Hall must now step into the breach. | Editorial

The traffic report confirmed that if the same number of people currently driving to games in South Philly drive to games in Center City, there will be gridlock at multiple intersections. Beyond questions of convenience, this congestion could endanger emergency access to medical care at Jefferson University Hospital.

Doctors and nurses have been raising the alarm about the potential human cost of the increased traffic. A person’s chance of surviving a heart attack decreases by 10% for every minute they go without care, and massive bleeding from gunshot wounds or other injuries can kill someone in as little as five minutes.

The community impact report could not deny that an arena would threaten the integrity of the beloved Chinatown community. There is nothing in the report that can refute the idea that the creation of the arena will lead to displacement, gentrification, and the loss of community and cultural identity.

These are the same concerns the mighty Stadium Stompers in North Philly raised when Temple University foisted the plan for a football stadium on a historically Black community that was already suffering from rising unaffordable rents and development run amok.

In both instances, a community of color was under threat by a powerful and moneyed entity. In both instances, the wealthy and powerful tried to forge ahead despite vehement, vocal, and well-organized movements for justice. Just as Stadium Stompers were victorious, so will the people of this city who recognize that the harms and risks of this arena outweigh any imagined benefits.

» READ MORE: Why opponents of a Temple football stadium are fighting so hard | Editorial

Developers have spent the last two years unsuccessfully trying to convince most Philadelphians and 76ers fans that this is a good idea. There are studies produced every year all over the country to try to convince cities that letting billionaire sports team owners take land tax-free, and, in this case, negatively impact historic neighborhoods, is worth it.

But who is this city for?

Is it for our local communities, who gather, pray, work, and learn together? Is it for small-business owners, who are trying to support a community? Or is it for Sixers owner Josh Harris, a man worth more than $10 billion who owns three other sports teams? Is it for real estate developers who exploit our communities and profit from our displacement and impoverishment?

Mayor Parker, Councilmember Mark Squilla, and City Council will get to make that choice in the coming weeks and months. There’s only one right answer.

The Rev. Dr. Gregory Edwards is the interim executive director of POWER Interfaith. The Rev. Wayne Lee is the pastor of the Chinese Christian Church and Center. Both are members of the Save Chinatown Coalition.